Hometown Visit
by GilmoreGirls-PLL-junkie
Summary: 2 years after graduation and Aria is living in New York with a small piece of Ezra. What will happen when on a visit to Rosewood, Aria runs into Ezra? **Title may change**
1. Prelude

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars.**

Chapter 1

It was two years since it all happened. Aria and Ezra's relationship ended just weeks before she was set to leave for New York University. Just a month after college started, Aria had found out she was pregnant. Now two years later, Aria lives in a small three bedroom apartment with her fifteen-month-old daughter. It was rough making it as a college student and single mother, but it worked. Ella had moved to the city a few months before Juliet was born and helped out, offering free babysitting. Aria's three best friends knew of Julie, in fact her daughter was named after her best friend, Hanna. Hanna attended college in New York and helped Aria throughout the pregnancy, accompanying Aria to doctor appointments. She often encouraged Aria to tell Ezra, but Aria couldn't bring herself to do it. In order to graduate early, Aria took extra classes so now she was starting her first teaching job in three months, September. She would be Miss Montgomery, pre-school teacher.

Since moving to New York, Aria had lost touch with Byron. When she had visited home during a weekend break, Aria sat her parents down and told them about her pregnancy. She had to beg them to sit in the same room as the other seeing as they were bitterly divorced and hardly spoke to one another. Immediately, Ella had supported her daughter and Byron had made his distaste of the subject known. He had forced Aria to take whatever she had left behind out of the house and had every number changed. It pained Aria, but if this was the way he was going to act then she didn't want him around her baby. Mike knew later that weekend and at first he thought she was making a mistake but when he met Juliet for the first time, he knew his sister made the right choice. He couldn't imagine his life without his niece.

The first of her friends to know was Hanna as she had been caring for a 'sick' Aria. It was Hanna who suggested her best friend might be pregnant. Eventually, Hanna had talked Aria into taking the four tests they had bought and was Aria's support when she told their two remaining best friends. Their initial reaction was being shocked but they soon became warm to the idea of Aria having a baby.

"I think I have everything I need..." Aria spoke to no one but herself as she hurried around her apartment packing whatever she may need for her two-week trip back to Rosewood. Since it was summer, Hanna and Aria were heading back to Rosewood for the first two weeks to meet up with Spencer and Emily. Spencer had stated in town having had to attend Hollis after her downward spiral in high school and Emily attended Danby on her swimming scholarship. Aria picked up the last of her bags and walked out of the apartment building with Julie on her hip.

Hanna stood at the back door of her car. "Jeez, Aria do you have enough bags for fourteen days?"

"Hey, traveling with a baby takes up some materials. You know like diapers and formula...clothes. And not to mention I have to bring her foldable pack-and-play."

* * *

><p>Two hours later, Aria and Hanna had passed the 'Welcome to Rosewood' sign. It had been over six months since either had been back to town. Ashley Marin had stopped by New York to visit Hanna and for winter and spring breaks, Emily and Spencer traveled to New York to visit the girls. Mike had just started college in upstate New York so there really wasn't much reason for Aria to come back to Rosewood recently.<p>

They met up with Emily and Spencer at the Grille. The two women instantly whisked Julie out of the stroller and began to play with her.

"How does it feel to be back?" Emily asked while waiting for Julie to be passed over.

"Well...okay I guess. I mean I haven't run into him. And I hope I don't. I honestly don't think it would be awkward here unless I run into him."

"What are you going to do if you see him?"

It was an unspoken agreement between the four that Ezra's name not be said in any discussion. "Well if he sees me with Juliet I'll have to tell him. He'll probably be pissed, but."

* * *

><p>Hours later, the girls having caught up, Aria had decided to take Juliet to the park while Hanna and the others went back to Spencer's place.<p>

Knowing how much her daughter loves the swings, Aria placed Julie into the child swing and began to lightly push her forward. She was awarded with her baby girl's toothy smile. Aria smiled at her daughter. Although he had broken her heart, Aria thanked Ezra everyday for having given her one of the best gifts life can offer. She can't remember what her life was like before Juliet came into the picture.

Aria was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard her name. Immediately, she stopped the swing and pulled Juliet out and placed her on her hip.

"Aria?" There was that familiar voice that she though she would never hear again. It belonged to the man that just occupied her thoughts.

"Ezra." It wasn't a question, it was a statement in a stone-cold tone.

Ezra couldn't help but stare at the child in Aria's arms. He didn't know if he should ask if it was her daughter or her sister.

"Yes." She answered the unspoken question. Apparently she still knew him like she always did.

"You're back?"

"Not necessarily. Just visiting Spencer and Emily with Hanna."

"So this is-"

"Juliet...you daughter."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Still don't have an affiliation with PLL.**

Chapter 2

_"Aria?" There was that familiar voice that she though she would never hear again. It belonged to the man that just occupied her thoughts. _

_"Ezra." It wasn't a question, it was a statement in a stone-cold tone. _

_Ezra couldn't help but stare at the child in Aria's arms. He didn't know if he should ask if it was her daughter or her sister._

_"Yes." She answered the unspoken question. Apparently she still knew him like she always did. _

_"You're back?"_

_"Not necessarily. Just visiting Spencer and Emily with Hanna."_

_"So this is-"_

_"Juliet...you daughter."_

* * *

><p>Ezra stared at Aria in shock. He had a daughter. He had a daughter with Aria, the love of his life.<p>

"What?" He eventually managed to choke out.

"We have a daughter. Juliet Rose Montgomery. She's fifteen-months-old." Aria looked down at said daughter. "Isn't that right, baby." Julie shot her mother a toothy grin.

"Why..."

Aria knew what the question would be so she cut him off before he finished. "Because you broke up with me, Ezra. I didn't want to talk to you. You broke my heart and at the time, I didn't want to see you. It just became easier each day not telling you. My mom and Hanna encouraged me to talk to you but I couldn't handle it at the time." Aria noticed that Ezra was still shocked. "Look, Spencer and Emily wanted to spend time with Jules. How about I drop her off and then we can meet up and talk?"

"Sure, sure. Meet me at my apartment?"

Aria was hesitant about going back to their 'sacred ground'. The last time she was in the apartment was when her daughter was conceived. Seeing Ezra look at her, waiting for an answer, she, for some unknown reason, agreed.

* * *

><p>"So, you're going to Fitz's place," Hanna teased as she watched Aria get ready.<p>

"It's not like that, Han. We're simply going to talk about Julie...and why I didn't tell him," Aria defended herself, and in a way Ezra.

"Aria and Fitzy..." her friend said in a sing-song tone.

"Goodbye, Hanna!"

* * *

><p>3B. The door she hadn't seen in two years. Aria stood there staring at the door she hadn't been behind since before their break-up. She decided to just get it over with and knocked on the door.<p>

Three knocks and Ezra answered. He gestured for Aria to enter. The place was almost bare, boxes were full and taped shut.

"Moving?"

"Yeah. At the end of June. I was offered a job at New York University."

Aria nodded her head. "I just graduated from there. I'll be starting my first job in September."

"Really? Where?"

"Just an elementary school in Manhattan. Pre-school."

"So you're staying in New York."

"Yes, where I have lived for the past two years. And with you moving there you can see Julie...if you want."

"Of course. I'd love to be a part of her life."

"So would I."

Some how, the two ended up ordering take-out and just catching up. Since Aria walked in almost two hours ago there had hardly been any talk of Juliet. She felt like it was like the old days where they would hide out rather than just meeting up to talk about their daughter. A silence followed a dead conversation.

"So, Julie," Aria started. "How about we talk about her? You know so you can know all about her."

"Okay. Let's start with her name. Is it from Romeo and Juliet?" Ezra assumed since they were both literature freaks that she would name her daughter after a classic character or after the title of the piece of work in which their relationship was described as.

"No, actually it's Hanna's middle name. Well, the Juliet part. I got Rose from my mom's side of the family. Hanna is actually her godmother too."

"I would have thought it'd be Spencer to have those privileges."

"Well, Spencer stayed back here since she didn't get accepted to her colleges of choice. And Hanna was in New York with me. She helped me through the pregnancy; she went to any appointments I had and she independently decorated the nursery. She was almost the one in the delivery room with me because my mom couldn't get out of a work meeting. That day was crazy. I had woke up with a back ache but still went to my lecture hall. In the middle of class I had this unbearable pain shooting through my stomach and as I was getting up to leave my water broke. I was freaking out because I couldn't get a hold of my mom and Hanna wasn't around. Hanna talked me into going to the hospital so that she could meet me there. I was in a panic. The professor helped me into a cab knowing how painful childbirth is. And once Hanna was with me and they had me in a room we did everything we could to get a hold of my mom. Hanna was less than thirty minutes away from helping me have Julie. Thank God my mom got there in time. I love Hanna and everything but I didn't want her helping me through that."

"So when is her birthday?"

"Whose? Hanna's?" Aria joked with him. "Julie was born on March fifteenth. My due date was St Patrick's day."

The two talked a little longer about their daughter before Aria looked at the time. "I should get going. Relieve Spencer and Emily of Julie Duty. I have to start getting her ready for bed anyway. But we're here for two weeks if you want to see her in that time frame." As Aria was standing up to leave, she pulled a piece of paper and a pen out of her bag. "This is my new number. Call me whenever and we can set something up."

* * *

><p>Aria walked in the door of Spencer's house only to be greeted by her three best friends.<p>

"Juliet is fed, bathed, dressed and asleep. Now you have to spill. You've been gone for hours!"

She shook her head. Aria should have known her friends would be waiting for her return. And she should have known they would already have Juliet ready and asleep so she wouldn't have any excuses. "Nothing happened. Not in the sense that you're thinking anyway. We caught up, ate dinner and talked about Jules. I gave him my number and told him to call me if he wanted to see her before we left for New York. Which, by the way, is where he will be living come July. He got a job at NYU."

"Aria could have had another student-teacher affair if she didn't graduate two years ahead of time," Hanna exclaimed.

Aria rolled her eyes. "Guys, nothing 'romantic' happened in the time that I saw Ezra today, okay?"

"Whatever you say," Spencer concluded, ending the conversation.

Of course, Hanna wasn't over the topic yet. "Just imagine how that make up sex would go."

"And with that I say goodnight," Aria said. She had to admit that she did think about it, all the time. But she was annoyed at her friends for pushing the issue. Entering the guest room, Aria shuffled into bed next to her baby girl, careful not to wake her. Cautiously, Aria kissed her daughter's forehead. "I love you, baby. And I know your daddy does too."


End file.
